CREDIT REPAIR SERVICES

 

 

Credit repair with Lexington law is a very simple process. First, Lexington Law needs a copy of your credit reports from the 3 credit bureaus (TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax). If you don't already have them, Lexington Law can assist you in obtaining them after signup. Once Lexington has received your reports, you use the simple online Dispute Valet service to choose which items to dispute and how to dispute them. Throughout this entire process Lexington is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via toll-free phone service, email, and online chat support (customer service support is also provided in Spanish.)

After you have finished with the Dispute Valet, Lexington Law goes to work for you by challenging the credit bureaus and your creditors to provide verifiable, accurate information regarding the negative items you have chosen to dispute. Once each negative item has been challenged, the credit bureau has 30 days to investigate the dispute and provide you with their results as well as an updated credit report. Once you receive your updated report, you'll send that report over to Lexington so that they can continue the dispute process with the most current information.

Lexington Law has three levels of service. All levels include unlimited disputes, Lexington's risk-free refund policy, free support, no additional fees and an anytime cancellation option.

•  If you're looking for basic credit repair, the Lexington Regular ($39.95 per month) is a standard credit repair service to offer unlimited credit disputes.

•  While still performing the basic credit repair service, the Concord Standard ($59.95 per month) is designed to enhance your relationship with your creditors as an extra effort to ensure that your credit report remains as accurate as it can be.

•  The Concord Premier ($79.95 per month) goes one step further to target your credit score by providing a monthly score analysis service and a ReportWatch service to alert you to both positive and negative impacts to your credit score.

Lexington's service begins with an easy sign-up on the web via their VeriSign secured site. Their site is very professional and provides detailed information about their services as well as an overview of the credit repair process. Also on the website are helpful evaluation materials such as the "Credit Cost Calculator", where you can compute how much your bad credit is costing you, and a service analysis chart in case your having trouble deciding which level of Lexington service is right for you. In case you'd like to know who will be taking responsibility for your personal credit repair, you can view the firm's attorney profiles and even view a video interview. A helpful representative is always waiting to speak to you at the other end of their 1-800 number.

Lexington Law views credit repair as a personal process, with specific, individualized intervention for each client. If Lexington Law fails to provide the agreed upon services, as identified by the service level you select, you will no be billed for that month, or the charge will be refunded if already processed.

Serving clients in debt repair since 1991, Lexington Law is a member of the Better Business Bureau Online (BBB Online) and has more than 18 years of client success with over 500,000 clients and over 2 million removals. In the year 2008 alone they removed over 600,000 negative items from their client's credit reports, and quarterly published statistics regarding their successes can be found on their web page.

If you are seeking to re-establish good credit by correcting your credit report, Lexington Law is a professional source for quality credit repair. Because of the professionalism of their website, their detailed explanation of services, around-the-clock availability and more, Lexington Law has earned our highest rating.

Cost:

$49 one-time setup fee $49 monthly charge

 

 

DSI Solutions is the self-proclaimed "#1 Credit Repair Solution Online," and if customer recommendation is a pull for you, then you will find plenty of testimonials from people whose financial lives have been changed with the affordable services of DSI. They offer credit repair for those currently being rejected on anything from a home loan, a refinancing option, or a newer vehicle, but also offer assistance with financing tips for buying a home, managing rent, getting a car, opening a business, refinancing vehicles, and obtaining good quotes on both auto and health insurance. Their FAQ page also provides information regarding what can and can't be removed from a credit report.

DSI doesn't promise to deliver anything fancy; their promise to you is credit repair in a quick and timely manner. They only offer one type of service at one rate of cost: a one-time set-up fee of $19, which is charged with your first of 3 payments of $89. If you pay the full cost for DSI's services upfront, they will waive the set-up fee so the total cost to you is $267.00. And they won't forget about you after your first payment; DSI will contact credit agencies for negative items on your behalf until either proof is provided or the negative mark is removed. With DSI, you can expect to see positive results on your credit reports within 45-60 days. And there will never be additional costs for additional services.

Even though there's not much to navigate to on their website, full disclosure statements regarding the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act), and the Fair Debts Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) can be found, as well as the benefits of reviewing your credit report and credit score regularly. As they dispute the negative items on your personal credit report, they keep you updated with reports every other week sent via email, as well as the updated credit reports from the credit bureaus. If after 6 months you are unconvinced of the personal value of DSI's services for your credit reports, they will give you your money back plus $50 for "wasting your time."

While not a member of the Better Business Bureau, no complaints have been filed with the BBB against DSI. Enrolling with their service is easily done online through their secure server. For easy, unlimited credit services on your behalf, DSI provides affordable credit repair online.

 

 

Ovation Credit Report Repair has been in business since 1972 and has 37 years of experience with consumer credit repair. A member of the BBB Online, their motto is "Experience Life with Better Credit," and they display a page of "proven" results as an example of what their services can do for you. They even offer a free credit consultation before you sign-up, and their process of credit repair is personally tailored for you.

Sign up is available online through their VeriSign secured site, or over the phone. As soon as you have forwarded your credit reports, Ovation utilizes their online Dispute Manager to obtain all the information necessary to begin working on your credit reports. The Dispute Manager is also continuously available to you for up-to-date information regarding your credit reports. From here, Ovation determines which strategy of credit disputing is appropriate for your situation, and all that's left for you to do is forward the corrected/updated credit reports as they come to you.

Ovation provides two levels of service for credit repair: The Essentials ($37 monthly), and The Essentials Plus ($57 monthly). Both provide personalized dispute options, a professional paralegal case advisor and analyst, unlimited dispute letters, online access to your status 24/7, and a live, interactive website for you to choose your dispute options. The Essentials Plus goes the extra mile by contacting creditors on your behalf to request validation of information on your credit report and provide recommendation letters from Ovation Credit Report Repair to new creditors. Ovation also gives a couples discount of 20% for clients needing dual credit repair assistance. If you are working with another credit repair service and switch to Ovation, you will receive $50 credit just for becoming their customer. A comparison chart is provided to evaluate their services, as well as a competitor's chart to see how Ovation matches up with other credit repair services (even though you might want to do your own research to ensure their data is current). Additional services are available, but additional fees apply; for a one-time fee of $25, you can "Jump Start" your account to "top priority," which gives you same-day service on account set-up and custom dispute letters, and another one-time fee $19.95 enrolls you in the Identity Optimization Program, which is designed to be a preventative program to reduce or eliminate your risk of becoming an identity theft victim.

With Ovation, you have real-time customer service, no penalty for anytime cancellation, and their services are 100% satisfaction guaranteed; if no services are provided for any given month, that month's fee is refunded to you. In case you'd rather speak Spanish, the credit repair specialist on the line can accommodate you. The Ovation website also has an education center for information on how to build good credit, with free and helpful ebooks. Their website is also equipped with a search tool in case you are having trouble locating the information you are looking for.

Ovation Credit Report Repair provides quality and reliable credit repair services at a very competitive cost. Combined with helpful information and a proven track record of success, Ovation earns very high marks.

 

 

Academy Credit Repair has a 95% success rate with their clients for credit repair. Providing similar services to some of our top rated companies, their signature specialty is a "credit mentor" who is available for you to contact anytime while you are engaged in their services. They provide a free credit report analysis service prior to sign-up, and they are a member of the BBB Online.

Academy's website is sleek, savvy, and easy to navigate. Enrollment for their services is offered with a secure sign-in page, and the resources page has information for comparing credit card offers, obtaining your credit reports, and tips about debt consolidation. Phone, mail, and e-mail contact information for specific requests is also provided online. Academy provides clear information throughout their site regarding your consumer right to view your credit report, and your right to challenge any of the items posted on your credit report. While this is certainly something you can do for yourself, Academy guarantees fast, aggressive service on your behalf to remove negative or even misleading items on your credit report.

Academy offers four kinds of service;

• Bronze ($49.95 setup, $9.95 monthly)

• Silver ($89.95 setup, $29.95 monthly)

• Gold ($129 setup, $49.95 monthly)

• Platinum ($129 setup, $69.95 monthly)

The Bronze level is simply guidance about your credit report. Actual credit repair begins at the Silver level, with your personal credit mentor and Academy working on your behalf to contact the credit bureaus about your report. The Silver level also gives you unlimited email support and a monthly telephone evaluation with your mentor. The Gold level targets those items on your report directly affecting your overall credit score, and provides you with unlimited telephone access to customer support. Platinum? Well, it's basically everything mentioned above plus a little more. With the Platinum level of service, your account is "top priority." All levels of service come with a monthly newsletter with helpful hints on how to protect, monitor, and correct your credit report.

The $129.00 set-up fee is non-refundable after the first five days, and their money-back guarantee is only available at the Bronze, Silver, or Platinum level, and not until after 1 year of service. There are no penalties for cancellation at any time.

Academy Credit provides similar services to higher-rated business, but at a slightly higher cost. It also seems that you get what you pay for; the more you pay, the more you get. Educating consumers about their credit score, report, and rights seems to be their greatest strength, but they also provide the services to improve it.

 

 

Veracity begins by pinpointing the end goal: credit power. Better credit for that home loan, a better credit card interest rate, or optimal buying leverage for a home or vehicle. But Veracity also give you the truth about credit repair, that it isn't an over night process or an easy solution for real debt. Their goal is quick results on your credit report to ensure its accuracy and reliability. Even more than that, Veracity strives to target specific items on your credit report affecting your credit score or ability to achieve your credit goals and makes those corrections and deletions a priority over more non-essential items.

You can select from two levels of service; either "Select" or "Platinum". The Platinum level provides additional services of Select, including priority processing and a personalized credit optimization plan. Once you've enrolled, you are contacted by a personal consultant to procure your credit reports and custom-design your credit repair process. Inquiries about your credit progress can be made via online chat or by toll-free phone service. You'll begin seeing results from the credit bureaus in 30-45 days, and all you have to do to continue getting "better credit for an easier life" is forward your updated credit reports to Veracity. They have a great FAQ page on credit repair questions, and a page of scenarios describing client situations they have assisted with. They also make no bones about declaring that they have no set refund policy, have rarely offered a full refund to a client, and expect that the personalized services they offer are worth the enrollment cost and monthly fee. They do offer a $25 discount on the 2nd account for couples signing up for credit repair together.

Veracity's website is straight forward and easy to navigate. What they don't have in fancy account services or instant online credit report access, they make up for in honesty and simplicity. As a competitive credit repair service, Veracity has something to offer. Veracity has been in business since 1998, an is a member of the BBB.

 

 

My Credit Group has a verifiably flawless track record with the San Diego Better Business Bureau, although they are not a member. The San Diego Chamber of Commerce gave them a "Best Customer Service" nomination in July of 2007. In business for 9 years, My Credit Group also provides services for debt consolidation and identity theft. Their promise is to provide "straightforward and honest" credit repair services with "impeccable" service and a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Even though their site is easy-on-the-eyes as far as color scheme and simplicity, it is lacking in specific information regarding their service methods for credit repair. Aside from the service guarantee that their credit repair program is "completely customized" and "built around your personal needs," there is very little that can be determined about their process of credit repair until you sign up for their services. The same goes for their full refund policy; the promise is there, but not any specific information to back it up.

My Credit Group does offer services to help you resolve inaccurate information listed on your credit report, but they also advertise with conflicting information. On one page of their site they say 87% of their business comes in by referral, but another touts a figure of 72%. It's this type of misinformation, along with the lack of full disclosure about their process until you purchase, that casts a shadow over their services.

Combined with a higher monthly cost, we feel it's better to select a company that educates you about their process before you hand them your social security number and credit card.

 

 

E Credit Attorney offers one level of service and one level of satisfaction. Also similar to Veracity, their ultimate goal is financial freedom with a credit report free from inaccuracies and false information. They pride themselves on keeping the cost of credit repair low, and their promise to every client is a full refund if satisfactory services are not completed within 1 year.

A unique feature of their website is a page of information specifically on what a credit report is, what kind of information is reflected in a credit report, and how long negative items are listed, as well as other pertinent information. Although not extensive, it provides basic, necessary information for any consumer who's a little bamboozled by the scope of credit reports, repair, and financial impact.

E Credit Attorney operates with a refund evaluation policy effective after services of one year. Their evaluation is that if the number of deletions multiplied by $55 is not greater than the cost to you in monthly installments, you will be "fully reimbursed" the difference.

Enrollment with E Credit Attorney is available over the phone or online, and for those whose first language is not English, a page of information on credit repair and E Credit Attorney can be viewed en Espanol. Online sign up with E Credit Attorney is also available, but unfortunately there's no seal of secure sign in. Another puzzle piece missing from this otherwise savvy-sounding business is a BBB seal, or a page of information about the "real" attorneys servicing client accounts. Although E Credit Attorney has all the auspices of a trustworthy and reliable source of credit repair, similar services can be provided by higher-rated, more reliably reputable businesses.

 

 

As a member of the BBB Online, CRC promises "no-compromise credit report repair" in the first 120 days or less, or you will be offered a partial refund. The enrollment application fee comes with the "Credit Repair Consultants' Guide to Your Credit Score" booklet, welcome and orientation communication, the order of your credit reports for you, and your first hour of consultation with a credit consultant. You can sign up online without being billed until your first services have been performed.

CRC provides a fairly comprehensive FAQ page online, and a very long but extremely informative page specifically about credit scores; what they mean and how they affect your ability to borrow and buy. This would be CRC's strongest selling point, as very few of the other credit repair services reviewed provide as detailed information on credit scoring. What CRC doesn't have going for them is straightforward, affordable service; no other credit repair business reviewed charges clients for obtaining credit reports, which you actually have to do for yourself, or by deletion as opposed to monthly. Even if they're service is impeccable and their able to remove 4-5 negative items from your credit report a month, that's a monthly cost of $125 on top of a partially non-refundable fee of $189. (And they are the ones handling the invoicing of the deletions.) In addition, some of the language they use to describe both their services and fees is contradictory.

We feel you can obtain better service at a better price with one of the top-rated services in our review.